warriorsfanficfandomcom-20200213-history
Northbound/Chapter Three
Piprin’s first day of training was delayed massively. After the hunter apprentice den collapsed (“Totally unexpected result, definitely worth it,” Sonrin said) all seven healthy warrior apprentices were put to work repairing the den. Normally the hunter apprentices would be joyful about a punishment like this – but given that they were all sleeping on the hard dirt of the clearing, they weren’t exactly in a mood for jokes. By the time the den was repaired, Arnik had come down with a cold, and it took him three days in the medicine den to recover. So when Piprin awoke to find her mentor crouched beside her bed with his eyebrows raised, she was relieved and excited all at once. “Are we training today?” she asked, sitting upright immediately. Arnik nodded and she grinned. “Fantastic!” “Grab a bite to eat and meet me at the camp entrance,” he told her. She bobbed her head up and down rapidly. “Of course,” she said, and scurried out of the den. Ruslyn and Foxlyn were playing near the prey-cave. The twins looked exactly alike, both with reddish brown hair and bright blue eyes, pale freckled skin and cheeky dimpled grins. They took after their mother. Both girls flung themselves at Piprin when they saw her. “Pip-ip!” Ruslyn crowed. She was the cute one, slightly chubbier and more angelic-looking. She got away with everything. “Fox ‘ungry,” Foxlyn said, pretending to gnaw on her sister’s leg. She was the planner, the sneaky one, generally behind everything naughty the twins did. “Feed it.” “All right,” Piprin shrugged. “What do you want to eat?” She squatted down and chucked her sister under the chin. “Eat!” Ruslyn grinned. “Come in with me and pick something out,” Piprin offered. The prey-cave was dark and dank. It was so cold in there that it made an excellent storage place for the raw meat. The prey itself was stored in piles. The pile closest to the cave entrance was the newest, and there was an unspoken rule in camp that you took prey from the back of the cave first. Piprin led her sisters to this last pile, and let them pick out two rabbits. They could share one, and she would have the other. The three girls emerged from the cave and headed across the clearing to the cooking fire beneath the Highrock. The rabbits were buried beneath the pile of hot stones, and when Piprin used a long stick to pull them out their skin was crispy and black. She peeled off the burnt fur and tested the meat underneath with her teeth. It was tender and juicy, cooked just right, so she pulled bits off for the twins and chewed at her own. She wanted to eat quickly so that Arnik wouldn’t be kept waiting. In the evening, the bigger pieces of prey were cooked over a naked fire, and the camp would have a feast together. Midday was a time for eating roots, leaves and fruits; and in the morning you cooked your own meal. Piprin had often seen her mother cooking the breakfast, but this was the first time she’d done it herself and she felt proud and grown-up. When she’d finished eating, Piprin led her sisters to the nursery. “Mama?” she asked, poking her head in. “I fed Fox and Rus, but they’re all rabbity. You should wash them.” Geremak rose to her feet and padded over to the door, taking the twins’ hands and dropping a kiss on Piprin’s head. “Thanks, Pip,” she said. “Is today your first day of training?” “Yeah!” “You’d better hurry then!” the red-haired woman smiled. “Don’t keep Arnik waiting. And good luck!” she called as her eldest daughter dashed away across the clearing. Arnik was standing just outside the tunnel entrance to the camp. He staggered forwards a couple of steps when Piprin ran into his back, but kept his composure and nodded as Stonedru talked to him. Piprin winced. “Sorry,” she whispered. “Clear?” Stonedru asked Arnik, and the young warrior nodded. “Absolutely,” he replied. “I’ll definitely keep my eye on the border. My apprentice and I have a training session planned, but I’m sure I can work a patrol into it somehow.” “Thanks,” Stonedru said, clapping Arnik on the shoulder. “Report back when you can.” He turned towards Armantor, standing on his left, and Arnik looked down at Piprin. “Are you ready now?” he asked sternly. She nodded. “Ok. You’ve seen bits of the territory before, but today we’ll be doing a bit of patrolling anyway, and give you a chance to look around with fresh eyes.” He didn’t wait for her to answer, just strode off up the rocks. The WolfClan camp was situated at the bottom of a steep valley. It had previously been a huge river, which had worn away the rock until the valley was created, but over time the river had dwindled and now it ran a different course. The back of the camp was along the line of the river, while both sides were guarded by rocky walls and the entrance was near a rocky path which guided one to the top of the valley. Piprin followed her mentor, bent forward and using her hands to keep herself steady. The rocks were sharp and slippery, and she’d been cut and bruised on them often before. Just yesterday Hollyrin had come back from training with a deep cut on the side of her palm from scrambling down the rocks. When they reached the top Arnik pointed to their left. “Over there is the DeerClan border,” he said. “Do you know what our relationship with DeerClan is?” “They’re a mostly peaceful Clan,” Piprin recited dutifully, “and they’re always willing to trade with us. They’re good at making things but they won’t trade deerhide or eat deer meat because it’s their Clan animal.” “Good,” Arnik said. He pointed to the right “And over there?” “The RavenClan border,” she said. “They’re a very strong and proud Clan. Sometimes we trade, but not often, and they always want to expand their territory, which means we have to keep a close eye on the border markers.” Arnik nodded once and pointed straight ahead. “Down there is the lake, and on the other side of the lake?” “BoarClan territory,” the apprentice said quickly. “They’re an aggressive Clan and they always want battles. They focus more on the warriors than the hunters and they hate criticism from anyone. We don’t have to worry so much about them because they’re across the lake, but they’re still dangerous.” “So you know your stuff,” Arnik said, but he didn’t sound proud. “Let’s go towards RavenClan this time. Stonedru is worried that they’ve been spending a lot of time on the border lately.” “Ok!” Piprin grinned, hopping from foot to foot. “Let’s go!” She darted off towards the border, flinging a glance over her shoulder to check that Arnik was following. “Watch where you’re going,” he admonished, so she turned back to the front and frowned. The journey to the RavenClan border was hard and long, through trees, up hills and over two small creeks. By the time they arrived, Piprin was panting heavily. Although she was fit and energetic, her legs were short and the walk was long. Arnik never slowed his pace or made any allowances for her. As they neared the border, Piprin’s sharp eyes began to pick out the markers fluttering from the treetops. Strips of wolf-fur stained with red ochre were tied to thin branches, marking out the entire border. Beyond the border was a small break between the trees, and then the RavenClan markers – raven feathers sewn onto rabbit hide. The tips of the feathers had been given the same red stain. Arnik took two steps beyond the markers and crouched suddenly. His hand darted out and he grabbed something between his fingers, looking at it sternly. “They’ve moved the markers,” he growled. Piprin frowned. “How do you know?” she asked, and Arnik opened his mouth to reply but then paused, holding up one hand in warning. There was a rustle in the bushes on the other side of the border and then four figures appeared. Arnik dipped his head as a sign of respect. “Strongdru,” he said, and Piprin looked at the man leading the group. He was tall, with dark hair and eyes, and he carried himself in a way which implied he demanded power, and acknowledgement. So this was the RavenClan deputy. “You’re on the wrong side of your border, boy,” the deputy said in a harsh, grating voice. Piprin winced. Arnik won’t like that. To her surprise, though, her mentor ignored the demeaning use of the word ‘boy’. “I’m in the no-man’s land, dru,” he said, using the suffix as a respectful title. “I’m not trespassing on your territory.” Piprin’s gaze was drawn to the younger two members of the group. Both were girls, with long pale-coloured hair twined into delicate plaits and threaded with feathers and ferns. The younger girl wore a skirt made of rabbit skins, while the older wore a deerskin tunic. She wore a long hide rope around her neck, with a withered claw on the end. A raven's foot talisman, which made her the Clan healer or the healer’s apprentice. They were both taller and skinnier than the children in WolfClan, and their skin was paler than Piprin was used to. She put her head down and peeked shyly at them through a curtain of black hair. “You are beyond your own border,” Strongdru pointed out. “Don’t let it happen again.” Arnik nodded, rising to his feet. “I’m sure that it won’t,” he said smoothly. “Come, rin.” Rin! Piprin bristled at the use of her title – ‘come along, apprentice,’ was what Arnik was saying to her. As if she wasn’t good enough for a name. When one was a leader, or a healer, titles were used for respect – but calling your apprentice ‘rin’ was just plain rude. She jogged to keep up with him as he strode away through the trees, moving so fast that she had no time to look back at the RavenClan party as they disappeared deeper into their territory. Abruptly, Arnik stopped. Piprin ran into the back of him and bounced off, falling on her bottom in the dirt. He looked down at her, bemused. “What are you doing down there?” “I fell,” the girl answered crossly, rising to her feet and brushing herself off. Arnik crouched to her level. “Listen, Piprin,” he said. “Did you see me pick something up back there?” “Yeah,” she said, curiosity overcoming her anger. “What was it?” Arnik showed her his cupped palm. There was a single juniper berry rolling around in his hand. “This.” “But juniper berries don’t grow by the RavenClan border,” she said, confused. “Exactly,” Arnik explained. “When we tie the markers to the trees, we place juniper berries underneath them. If anyone unties the marker to move it, the berry will fall out. It’s a trick that only WolfClan plays, so no one from another Clan moving the markers will think to put the berry back in.” “So when you picked up the berry, you knew that they’d moved the markers!” Piprin crowed. “I understand. But why didn’t you confront them about it?” He shrugged. “One half-grown warrior and a new apprentice against the four RavenClan warriors, including the deputy? I don’t think so.” “Then what will we do now?” “Tell Eladar,” Arnik said grimly. “The Gathering is only four sleeps away – and there’ll be trouble over this, believe me. Big trouble.”